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Obj. ID: 22151  Wooden Synagogue in Hvizdets' (Gwoździec), Ukraine

© Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Photographer: Breyer, Alois, 1910-1913

The date of construction of the synagogue and the date of the first level of the murals on the walls have different interpretations. According to Piechotka, M., & K. Piechotka , the synagogue was built c. 1640 and was painted after the 1652. 

Th. C. Hubka, believes that the synagogue was built c. 1700. The earliest date 1686, that probably manages to read, was inscribed in the dedicatory inscription on the panel on the eastern wall.

The date on the entrance door – 1717.

The date of the murals on the vault – 1729.

There are two painter’s inscriptions:

ראו כל אלה עשתה ידי לכבוד המקום ולכבוד הבריות נאום הצייר יצחק בן הר"ר יהודא ליב הכהן מק"ק ירטשוב לפרט וזה מעשה יד'י לה'ת'פ'ר לפק [דהתפ – 1729]

See, All this was made by my hand {Isaiah 66:2}, for the glory of the place and the glory of the community the artist [of beauty] Isaac son of Rabbi Judah Leib ha-Cohen from the Holy community of Jarychow. In the Year ‘This is my handiwork, in which I glory’ (1729) {Isaiah 60:21}»

 

על ידי הפועל העוסק במלאכת הקדוש נאום הצייר ישראל בה ישיש הרר מרדכי שן מק"ק יארטשוב גליל דק"ק לביב

«By the worker, engaged in the holy labor, the artist [of beauty] Israel, son of the venerable Rabbi Mordecai from the Holy community of Jarychow, district of the Holy community of Lvov»

 

The bulk of the building with the prayer hall is almost square in plan (11,3x11,3), covered with a high combined double roof. Two galleries are connected to the building from the west and the south.

The stepped construction of the vault consists of a successive system of octagonal and square vaulting. The square vaultings supported the octagonal vaulting, which was constructed with means of four trapezoidal parts and four triangular pendentives. 

The vault and the walls are made by two different decoration schemes at different times.

The murals of the vault were constructed as a single hierarchical composition correlated with the architectural structure of the vault. The entire surface of the vault was covered with a set of floral ornamentation consisting of flowers and fruits, among which were placed medallions of various shapes, filled by a single motif or text.

The murals of the walls are divided into three horizontal levels. Upper - the frieze, decorated with images of animals, birds, and urban buildings. Medium - consists of text panels, framed by architectural ornamentation, usually in the form of a portal. The lower level - is a broad ornamental band. All text tables are separated by a wide ornamental strip (borders) with a variety of floral and geometric patterns.

2 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Wooden Synagogue in Hvizdets' (Gwoździec) | Unknown
Object
Object Detail
Date
Mid-17th century; 1686 (The earliest date, most likely, on the inscription panel on the eastern wall); 1717 (The date on the entrance door); 1729 (The date of the murals on the vault)
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Historical Origin
Community
Congregation
Unknown|
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period Detail
Collection
Material/Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Iconographical Subject
Unknown |
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
1
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka, Heaven’s Gate: Wooden Synagogues in the Territories of the Former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Warsaw: Krypski i S-ka, 2004), 208-212. Alois Breyer, El Lissitzky, Frank Stella: Wooden Synagogues, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Catalogue, ed. Batsheva Goldman-Ida, (Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 2014),41-45 Hubka, Th. C., Resplendent Synagogue, (Brandeis University Press, 2003) דוידוביץ, דוד, ציורי קיר בבתי כנסת בפולין, )ירושלים: מוסד ביאליק, תשכ"ח( תמר שדמי, הכתובות שעל קירות בתי הכנסת במזרח אירופה – מקורותיהן, משמעות ותפקידן בעיצוב תפיסת החלל ועבודת הקודש, חיבור לשם קבלת תואר "דוקטור לפילוסופיה" (אוניברסיטת בר אילן, רמת גן, אייר תשעא [2011]),143-152
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
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Researcher
Khaimovich Boris |
Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconsdivuction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.